Interdisciplinary Programs and Centers at Duke

Duke has a number of interdisciplinary programs and centers that offer educational opportunities for sociology graduate students. We provide brief descriptions of some of these centers below.

Social Science Institute Program in Advanced Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences

The central mission of the graduate certificate in Advanced Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences is to provide interested doctoral students with a coherent and integrated understanding of quantitative approaches in the social sciences. The program is intended for doctoral students from any department or school who have interests in research in the social sciences. The goal is to provide advanced training in quantitative methods in an interdisciplinary context to facilitate research without regard to discipline and communication across disciplinary boundaries. [website: http://www.ssri.duke.edu/pariss.php]

The Duke Population Research Institute

The Duke Population Research Institute is an interdisciplinary research organization bringing together researchers from the biological, mathematical, statistical, social and policy sciences who work in various programs, laboratories, centers and departments at Duke. The Institutes coordinate research projects in the following centers: Population, Policy and Aging Research Center, the Center for Research on the Evolutionary Demography of Aging, the Chinese Populations and Socioeconomic Studies Center, the Center for Social Demography and Ethnography [website: http://www.ssri.duke.edu/csde.php], and the Center for Population Health and Aging. [website: http://www.ssri.duke.edu/dupri.php]

The Center for Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness

The Center for Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness was established to serve as a nucleus for researchers and educators around the world. The research and policy-oriented Center on Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness at Duke exists to provide a comprehensive framework linking global, national, and local levels of analysis in order to generate new knowledge that will make it possible to harness the potential advantages of globalization. The center hosts projects and scholars and currently houses two related research programs: Global Value Chains and North Carolina and the Global Economy. [website: http://www.ssri.duke.edu/cggc.php]

The Department of Statistical Science

The Department of Statistical Science coordinates teaching and research in statistical science at Duke. At the graduate level, Duke Statistics offers a Masters and PhD degree in statistical science. Students in these graduate programs learn cutting-edge methods from faculty defining the frontiers of statistical science. Additional educationally oriented programs include the Statistical Consulting Center, which provides statistical advice to members of the Duke community, and the Statistical Education Center, which is Duke's primary education resource for the nearly 1000 students who take undergraduate statistics courses each year. [website: http://www.stat.duke.edu/]

Department of African & African American Studies

The Department of African & African American Studies is designed to establish coordinated interdisciplinary study of the history and culture, the social and economic issues, and the political institutions and processes that have shaped the experiences of people of African ancestry. The program serves as an interdisciplinary intellectual center that encourages research and scholarship in many dimensions of African and African American experiences. It provides access for students and scholars to a broad range of information and research not only from the humanities and the social sciences, but from the arts and professions while taking advantage of Duke University's distinctive resources in each of these areas. [website: http://www.aas.duke.edu/aaas/]

Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development

The primary aims of the Center are to encourage and support basic and applied research on biomedical, behavioral, and social scientific aspects of adult development and aging; to train research investigators for such projects; and to develop accessible sources of scientific information for interested individuals and governmental agencies. Although the Center does not offer degrees, the varied programs and research laboratories provide a context and resource for undergraduate and graduate students with special interests in adult development and aging. Stipends for advanced students often are available. The Center conducts multidisciplinary two-year programs for postdoctoral fellows in research on physiological, behavioral, and social scientific aspects of adult development and aging. Through a program of seminars, collaboration with the senior fellows of the Center, and independent research, postdoctoral fellows select and concentrate on issues of particular interest. Research methods, the development of specific research skills, and an interdisciplinary perspective are stressed. The Center's Archive contains a number of surveys, including many with longitudinal research designs. These data are available to students and staff interested in secondary analysis of life course events. The Data Archive is under the directorship of Linda George, who also is the Center's Associate Director for Social and Behavioral Studies.

The Council on Latin American Studies
and the Duke - University of North Carolina Program in Latin American Studies

The Council on Latin American Studies, after more than half a century of informal cooperation, formed a joint program in the late 1980s with the University of North Carolina. Both the Council and the joint Program continue to exist and fulfill slightly different needs. All graduate education at Duke and UNC is conducted through either an academic discipline or a professional school degree program. Neither university grants an interdisciplinary postgraduate degree in Latin American Studies. Instead, graduate students seeking to document their area expertise are encouraged to earn a Certificate in Latin American Studies along with any advanced degree in a graduate program. The objective of the joint program is to enhance the Latin American curriculum on both campuses, provide research and training opportunities for students and faculty from all disciplines, and increase public awareness of the importance of Latin American cultures and traditions. Duke students regularly enroll in courses at UNC and vice versa Each semester two Latin American professors (one from each campus) teach a course on their sister campus. In addition, the monthly DukeUNC Graduate Student Colloquium is designed to encourage interaction between the two graduate student bodies. For more information about the program, please write Duke-UNC Program in Latin American Studies, Duke University, Box 90254, Durham, NC 27708-0254; or call (919) 681-3980.

Center for International Studies

The Center for International Studies coordinates various area programs (African Studies, Asian/Pacific Studies, Canadian Studies, Latin American Studies, etc.) and seeks to foster innovative teaching and research in comparative, international fields. The Center distributes a calendar of events, organized by the Center and its various components, which permit informal exchanges between students and faculty in different disciplines and professional schools. The Center offers an undergraduate major (Comparative Area Studies) whose large enrollment provides teaching assistantships for qualified graduate students. The Center administers grants that offer overseas research opportunities, and will also assist students in finding external funding sources. Among programs that provide graduate fellowships and research support, the one in Canadian Studies is notable in its support for sociology students having an interest in comparative aspects of politics, ethnic conflict, gender studies, health delivery systems, and other topics that can be studied in a Canadian context. For activities of the Center and other information, inquire at the Center for International Studies, Box 90404, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708.

Women's Studies

The Women's Studies Program provides a focal point within the university for the study of women and gender. Duke has a particularly large and distinguished faculty in feminist scholarship covering all areas. Because Duke employs a full-time bibliographer and an archivist in women's studies, graduate students have remarkable assistance available for their research. The Women's Studies Program offers a certificate in women's studies in conjunction with the M.A. or Ph.D. degree in sociology.

Other Centers and Programs

Aside from the those described above, there are numerous other centers and programs at Duke which may be of interest to you. A partial list follows. If you would like information on any of these, please feel free to write or call us.

International Comparative Studies
Terry Sanford Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs
Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies